Six Eight Kafe's Coffee Blog

With two camera fiddlers on the staff alone, it is an easy assumption to say that at 6/8 Kafé we bloody love you photography types.

Starting off with our blog at http://sixeightkafe.co.uk/ with shots by Andrea at AMCH Photography and onto our Flickr, we always dig it when someone pulls out their lensed beauty and gets snap happy.

We’re looking to get more photographers involved - whether you are a student looking for a place to take some shots or looking to network and meet other photographers in the other area; we want to meet you and see what we can do.

We recently had a visit from a picture taker, who we now like to call a friend, Dave Cox

Pret. Dave is a fan of coffee and photography and took a couple of shots of the shop for his Project 50. Dave describes this personal endeavour as “50 photos over 50 days with a 50mm lens with the aim to improve my image quality as I progress.”

Below is the resulting shot

Very nice, I think you’ll agree.

So tell us what you as photographers want from us. Photography tutorial/networking events? A coffee blog to promote and give credit to those who frequent take shots of the shop?

We’re more than happy to hear from anyone and share ideas.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Contact us on:

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or email listed in the info bar to the left of the screen.

More on David Cox

Website

Flickr

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More on AMCH Photography

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You want to experience coffee, you go to Prufrock. The minimalist decor and simple furniture demonstrate that this is clearly not a place to give you that cosy coffee shop feeling. This is a place to taste and savour what is in your mug.

The Prufrock stations (one in the clothes shop Present on Shoreditch High Street) are headed up by 2009 World Barista Champion Gwilym Davies and then staffed by a multitude of top notch baristas. Along with Present, Leather Lane boasts a Nuova Simonelli for their espresso drinks, but milk drinks are named by size rather than the usual titles of ‘Flat White’ or ‘Latte’; here you will simply get a 4oz, 6oz or 8oz. Along with their espresso range (currently using Square Mile’s Winter Blend) is the impressive slow bar.

The slow bar is where you will find the stash of coffee geek toys. Uber boilers, siphons with halogen burners along with your regular brewing techniques. I served a siphon coffee prepared by Robson Barista, which I highly recommend if you want to get the best out of your coffee.

Check out Prufrock’s website & Twitter

David and his toys

Outside. Nothing flash here.

My siphon coffee is a-brewing.

The entrance to Prufrock

On Saturday 26th 6/8 Kafe will being opening on Saturdays for the first time…and we’re having a bunch of offers to celebrate!

FREE HOT DRINKS-

Along with with live music throughout the day, some of the offers that will be running will enable you to get FREE HOT DRINKS…heres how:

• Use your Twitter & Facebook profiles to follow us/like us and then write in your status “I’m at @SixEightKafe enjoying my free (insert hot drink name)” and whatever hot drink name you will include, you will get it for free! Keep in mind, this will only apply to one drink per customer - the rest you have to pay for!
• Be one of the first five customers at the beginning of every hour and get a free hot drink! Yup, we’re practically giving them away - we just want to spread our love of good coffee around and show what we have to offer. Again, a customer can only take this opportunity once. No running away and coming back!

Also throughout the day will be LIVE MUSIC and A NEW ART EXHIBIT will be adorning our walls.

Doors open 11am-5pm

Spread the word! Be at Six Eight Kafe this Saturday!

I made my way down to foggy London town to check out the finals of the UK Barista Championships which took place at the Excel exhibition centre in London. I was there to meet up with friends from other independent coffee shops from around the UK and also to cheer on our friend from Hasbean, Dale Harris.

For those of you who don’t know about the UK Barista Championships, baristas from all over the UK compete at regional trials to be selected to take part in the finals. The winner of the UK competition will then be invited to fly over to the international championships - held last year in London (and won in 2009 by Londoner Gwilym Davies), this years championships will be happening in Bogota, Columbia. Not too shabby.

The competition entails you making three drinks for four judges in 15 minutes. This includes an espresso shot, cappuccinos and a signature drink. Loads more information can be sourced here.

All competitors were on top form between the final six, all with unique and surprising takes on coffee (frozen aromas served up as ice for example). Dale can proudly claim that he won third place, with Neil Le Bihan (Exchange Coffee) coming second and John Gordon of Square Mile coffee coming first place for the second year in a row.

Here are a few photos…not as good quality as my others as I only had my camera phone, but hopefully you enjoy anyway.

Haley Draper of The Window Coffee, Norwich

Hasbean’s Dale Harris starting up

John Gordon of Square Mile Coffee serving up his signature drinks

And John Gordon wins!

For more information on the UK Barista Championships go here: http://scaeuk.com/index.php

Our Synesso Cyncra Three-group in all its glory

Tipped as one of the best espresso machines in the world, you can’t get much better than the sleek design of the American designed Synesso Cyncra. Known for its meticulous consistency for getting the best out of an espresso, the Cyncra is a beast - but love and it will love you straight back.

This is just a taster of our chrome beauty; rest assured that I will be publishing follow up articles about the aspects of the Synesso and how it helps up make great coffee.

For now, have a nose around the Synesso site, I’ll start you off on the page dedicated to the model we use and you can go from there.

Oh, North Tea Power. You wonderful place nestled in the heart of Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Run by the infinitely friendly rhyming duo of Wayne and Jane; this is a space to sit, chat, chill, work & network. 

In one corner a few friends sit and knit, while at a long central table media types gather round and chat in front of their Macbooks. Each member of these groups has a partner; a mug filled with one of a huge selection of finely brewed loose leaf teas or an espresso coffee, made lovingly from Hasbean’s earthy Blake blend.

Macchiato and Cappuccino 

This is my go to place for coffee in Manchester and they are quickly gaining a reputation for their espressos as much as their wall of teas (which I highly recommend as well, especially their Oolong).

Wayne & Jane hard at work

Topping it all off is their superb range of cakes; sourced locally from the area and sold as fast as they are baked.

I am a huge fan of what the guys have done at NTP. A cosy, welcoming atmosphere where you can comfortably spend hours sampling from their menu. It is a space that seems to nurture creativity - possibly due to the obvious attention to detail that Wayne and Jane have put into the place (notice the excellent choice of fonts on everything from the tea information cards to the takeaway cup stamps).

So, if you’re hanging around Manc city centre, do yourself a favour and pop in to say hello to our friends North.

North Tea Power’s website is under development here

Check them out on Twitter

Special thanks to Katie Liana Riley - known to many as Rile-Dog-Woof/NTP-Resident-Bummer - for introducing the author to North Tea Power. Katie Riley is a Manchester based theatre producer and you can see the beautiful nonsense that spills from her fingertips on her Twitter page.

This is the first in series of blog posts where 6/8 Kafe visits other independent coffee shops around the UK; often those that share some connection with 6/8 - more often than not, they will use the same supplier of our luxurious coffee beans, Hasbean.

Fitting this profile is The Shrewsbury Coffeehouse, a relatively large and cosy coffee shop nestled in Shropshire. Open for only a couple of weeks after this post is being written, the Coffeehouse is already a stellar success; packed with customers, excellent coffee and stellar reviews by local media.

Run by Jess (also Events Coordinator) and Chris (Operations Manager/Head Barista), the team run a tight ship in a comfortable and relaxed environment. 

The coffee they use is Hasbean’s Jabberwocky, a bright blend that works really well with milk - especially recommend the Flat White - beautifully prepared with top latte art on a La Marzocco GB/5. Along with that the tea is excellent (great glass tea pots too) and a fresh range of sandwiches & cakes.

They are looking to expand their downstairs area to host gigs and other events. Well worth checking out if you love your coffee and since they’re only about an hour of Birmingham (and right next to Shrewsbury train station) you’ve no excuse.

6/8 Kafe hopes to work closely with these guys and hopefully you’ll hear a lot more about them in the future.

Website: http://www.thecoffeehouseltd.co.uk/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ShrewsburyCoffeehouse

Twitter:http://twitter.com/CoffeehouseLtd

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecoffeehouse

You guessed it ladies and gents, you can rent 6/8 after hours for your functions/events/groups/clubs/pop-up galleries/shindigs and hootenanys. 

Just give us a shout for a quote, but our prices our very low for a central Birmingham location and possibly negotiable accordding to what you require.

Top location, top coffee, top service and all for your tippity top enjoyment.

See you soon.

For his Jimseven podcast, James Hoffman (World Barista Champion 2007) talks to Colin Harmon (Ireland National Barista Championship in 2009 and a man on the cutting edge of revoluntionising coffee shops that just sounds like a real nice guy). They discuss what they expect from a top quality coffee shop and the importance of improving the standard of coffee in shops.

If you are interested in coffee, the coffee culture, a barista or own a coffee shop; this is well worth listening to. 

Check it out here

To raise money for Red Nose day, when people buy our loose leaf Red Cherry Suki Tea we will be making a donation of £2 to the cause.

Enjoy excellent tea, in a top notch shop and all going towards a good cause. Win!

We’re looking to get some solo/duo musicians in our shop to play on our Saturday openings.

We serve great coffee and want some top level music accompaniment for our customers to enjoy. We would prefer acoustic and instrumental, but we’re open to what instrument. Something unique? Lets see what you got!

We also want DJs! We have some space on our bar where you could set up decks. We have a chilled environment, so maybe some trip-hop or soul. Tell us what you’re working with.

This would be a great chance for university students and no doubt our independent coffee shop would be a great place to get noticed or play in front of your friends.

Just give us a shout on here, on our Facebook or Twitter. Look forward to hearing from you!

CALLING ALL STUDENTS

Between 2.30pm - 6pm Monday to Friday, show us your valid Student ID for Buy1Get1Free on ALL HOT drinks!!!!

Because that’s how good we are to you guys! :D

http://www.hasbeanwholesale.com/

Follow the link above for some videos from Hasbean Wholesale that are well worth checking out; whether your are interested in coffee roasting, Direct Trade or how coffee makes it from the field to your cup.

Leading the first two videos is our friend and the Head Roaster of Hasbean Steve Leighton. The final video includes our friends over at Liverpool’s Bold Street Coffee and a regular visitor to our store, Hasbean Director of Wholesale Dale Harris.

We believe strongly in what Hasbean stands for; in their high standards of business, customer service and their ethical approach. Check out these videos and I’m sure you’ll soon be converted!